Thirds to william



(No Model.)

J ANDERS ON CARRYING APPARATUS.

'mz Norma runs 00', PNOTGUTNQ. WASHINGTON, n, c.

UNITED STATES PATENT QEEIQ JENS ANDERSQN, o r wALLA WAIJLA, wAsHmcTom-Assre vort or TWO- THIRDS TO WILLIAM 0. FALLONY AND JOHN KEOUGH, oF's ME PLACE.

CARRYING APPARATUS.

sPncIFrcATIoN'formin m of Letters as No; 06,618, dated June 28, 1898.

w I n Application filed l g'ebr uary 25, 1,898.: QerialNo. 671,5 86. (Nomodeli) T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J ENS ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Walla Walla, in the county of Walla WValla and State of Washington, have invented new and usefullmprovements in Carrying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in means of propelling carriers of various kinds, the primary object of my invention being to provide a device for delivering packages, letters, papers, or other small articles from the sidewalk to houses or from country roads across a space to a residence, so that mail or packages can be delivered without the necessity of the carrier leaving the street or road.

In carrying out my invention I make use of a suitably-supported tube or way which contains a screw, with which the carrier enas d mea s f tvtu ning s rewandl imparting automaticallya movement in an opposite direction to return the carrier. invention also provides means for operating the screw from a point adjacent to the receptacle in which the articles are deposited by the carrier. 7 J

My invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the parts, as willbe here-- inafter set forth, and specifically pointed out intheclaim's.;. V a In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, to show,

the generalarrangement of a carrying apparatus constructed in accordance with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing an end view of the carrier.

Adjacent to the roadway, street, or other point is erected a post A, intermediate posts or supports A being provided as necessary, and A refers to the delivery-station or house. The post or support A and the station or house A have suitably attached thereto bearingplates B and B, in which are. journaled the endsof ashaft'O, the exterior configuration thereof being in the form of a screw.

D refers to a tube or covering shaped in cross-section as shown inFig. 2, soas to have Vertical sides and a rounded top. This tube is supported at the desired intervals by brack ets, which extend from. the posts A, and the The 1 end sections thereof are connected to the post A and plate B, attached near the station A The slotted'tube D is provided with inwardlyprojecting rails d, which have the corners beveled, as shown, and these railsserve as a track or way for thethreaded block to which the carrier is attached. The tube D may be arranged either horizontally or at an inclination in accord with the positions of the delivcry and receiving stations and the screw which is located within the tube may be j ournaled upon ball-bearings. One end of the screw beyond the plate B has a pinion c, and connected therewith is a train of gearing com prising suitable cog-wheels of the proper di-v mensions, the shaft on which the main driving-wheel c is mounted havingattached there to a crank-handle O, and within the casing which incloses the train of gearing the shaft 0 has two drums e 6. It will be readilynoted that when the handleis turnedin the proper direction the threaded shaft Ofw'ill be rapidly turned. I Y

Below the casin g which incloses the train of 1 I 'l I gearing are mounted two vertical 1ods ff upon which are mounted weights F F, and upon the rods above and below the weights are placed springs which act as buffers. To the weights are attached bands or belts, that from the weight F passing over the drum e.

Theother belt from the weight F. passes over the drum 6, and when one of the weights is raised the-other will be lowered. The weight F is heavier than the weight F, and said weight F is connected to a flexible connection G, which extends therefrom over guidepulleys g g and intermediate guides on the.

posts A, the opposite end of the connection having attached thereto a weight g, which not only serves as a handle, but also as a counterbalance for the weight F.

H refers toa carrier or receptacle for mailmatter or other articles, and the same is pivotally attached to a block H, the upper portion of which lies within the slotted tube and engages with the tracks thereof, the screw also passing through a threaded aperture in said block. The lower portion of the block beyond the tube is pivotally connected to the carrier H. The carrier has a door h,

a spring h for holding the doornormally closed, and an extended portion which forms a contact-point with which a projection i or end of a spring attached to the delivery-station A engages, so that when the carrier reaches the mail-box or delivery-station the door of the carrier will be opened. The spring or projection I, having the lower member '1', also has an upper member i',which is adapted to engage with the threaded block 11 when the carrier reaches the delivery-station, and this carrier has an upwardly-projecting portion 71. which is connected to the threaded block by a spring, so that the bottom of the carrier will normallybe maintained in a horizontal position, or so that the front end will be higher than the rear end. The carrier has on its under side a rubber blocl; or buffer I1 which projects slightly over one end, the opposite end being under the bottom of the carrier. hen the carrier is adjacent to the post A, the buffer II will engage therewith; but when the carrier is moved to the deliverystation or mail-box the buffer will be engaged by the wall (0 thereof, which will cause the carrier to be tilted. The projecting portion of the door engages with the terminal 1' of the spring- I, which will open the door, and the upper end of the spring engages the threaded block and the carrier will be tilted, as shown.

Normally the carrier will rest against the post A, which represents the station where the matter is deposited in the carrier. The articles are placed in the carrier and the crank-handle is given the required number of turns, which imparts a rotary movement to the screw-threaded shaft and causes the carrier to travel along the same, and after the matter has been ejected from the carrier into the mail-box or receiving-station A the handle is released and the weight F, which has been raised,will descend and cause a reverse rotation of the screw-threaded shaft, bringing the carrier back to the station or post A. It will be noted that the spring on the rod above the weight 1 acts as a stop and prevents undue rotation of the gear mechanism and threaded shaft and that the weight F in descending winds the belt attached to the weight F about the drum 6, so that said weight will be raised when the carrier is adjacent to the station A. Should a person at the station Aiwhere the receiving-box is located, desire to bring the carrier to that point, he can do so by simply drawing upon the flexible connection G,which will raise the weight F and permit the weight 1 to descend, so that the driving-shaft will be operated to turn the threaded shaft and cause the carrier to travel toward the station A lVhen the weight F is raised for the purpose set forth by drawing downward upon the handle or weight 9, attached to the flexible connection G, the shaft (J will be turned by the belt or strap which is wound about the drum 6, and if the weight F and its connections were not present the slack of the belt or strap attached to the weight F would not be taken up. As the belts or straps attached to the weights F F are wound in opposite directions about the drums ee,when one of the weights is raised the other will be lowered. It is obvious that the weights when arranged as shown will serve as stops by abutting against the underside of the casing which incloses the train of gear, and by so doing prevent undue rotation of the gearing, and unless two weights were used and the belts attached thereto were wound in opposite directions upon the drum the threaded shaft would not be turned when one of the weights was raised by the cord or flexible connection G.

Though this device is designed, primarily, as a maitdelivering apparatus, it is obvious that it may be used for other purposcsfor instance, as a cash or package carrier in storeservice or as a means for sending bundles from one point to another. It is obvious that the carrier may be made to travel at any inclination or even vertically.

Having thus described my in vention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a carrier or conveying apparatus, the combination with a screw-threaded rod 01' shaft, a block mounted thereon, a receptacle attached to said block, means for imparting movement to the shaft in one direction and means for effecting automatically a reverse movement of the shaft,substantially as shown.

2. In a carrying apparatus, the combination with a screw-threaded shaft, a block and carrier mounted thereon, a train of gear for imparting to the shafta rapid rotary movement in one direction and means for-automatically operating the gearing and shaft in an opposite direction to effect the return of the carrier, substantially as set forth.

3. In a carrying apparatus the combination. with a rigidly-n1ounted slotted tube, a screwthreaded shaft within the same, a block mounted upon the shaft and provided with a depending portion from which a carrier is pivotally suspended, a train of gearing for retating the screw-threaded shaft in one direction, means for actuating the driving-shaft of the train of gearingin a direction opposite from that from which it is driven manually and a receptacle for the reception of the contents of the carrier when the carrier reaches the limit of its movement in one direction upon the shaft, substantially as shown.

4:. In a carrying apparatus the combination of a track or way, a screw-threaded shaft, a block mounted on said shaft, a carrier pivotally suspended from said block, and a fixed receptacle with which the carrier engages, substantially as shown.

5. In a carrying apparatus, the combination of a carrier, a door having an extended portion and spring for holding the same normally closed, a spring attached to the supporting means of the carrier and to the carrier to maintain the same normally in a horizontal position; together with a receptacle havinga ICO vmo els a portion withwhich the carrier engages to effect an inclination of the same and means for automatically operating the door against the action of the spring thereof, substantially as shown. I I

6. In acarrying apparatus, the combination with a supporting-block, a carrier pivotally attached thereto and provided with a spring for holding the carrier normally in a horizontal position, a buffer attached to the carrier so as to project beyond one end of the same, a door held normally closed by a spring, a receptacle having a portion for engagement with the buffer anda spring the terminal portions of which are in line with the block and projecting portion of the door, substantially asshown and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a carrying apparatus, the combination with a covered and slotted track or way, a, screw-threaded shaft located therein, a carrier supported by a block which engages with the shaft, a train of gearing in mesh with a pinionon the shaft, the driving-shaft of the train havingdrums, belts attached to the drums and weights carried by said belts; together with a flexible connection which extends from one of the weights to a point adjacent to the discharge-station of the carrier, for the purpose set forth.

' 8. In a carrying apparatus, the combination with a covered and slotted track or way, a

screw-threaded shaft which extends through the track or way, a block through which the shaft passes, a carrier suspended from the block, a train of gearing the driving-shaft thereof having a drum over which passes a belt, a weight attached to said belt, means for raising the weight manually and means for effecting a rotation of thedriving-shaft, substantially as set forth.

9. In a carrying apparatus, the combination with a covered and slotted track or way, a screw-threaded shaft located therein, a carrier in engagement with said shaft, a train of gear for manually rotating the shaft in one direction,adrum mounted on one of the shafts of the train of gear, a Weight connected by a belt to the drum, springs or cushions mounted above and below the weight and means for manually raising the weight from a distant station; together with a second drum, belt and weight for actuating the train of gearing and shaft in an vopposite direction from what it is operated manually, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses. v J ENS ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

WM. 0. Ramon, J. G. THOMAS. 

